George a



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. MEACHAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BUTTON.

Specification. forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,776, dated January 10, 1860; Reissued J une 20, 1865, No. 2,006.

T o all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. MEACHAM, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Buttons; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the several parts before they are secured to the cloth. Fig. 2 is a section of a button and of the cloth to which it is firmly fixed, and Fig. 3 is a face View.

Like parts are designated by the same letters in all the figures.

In performing the operation of buttoning a garment the button is always inclined more or less to enable its edge to be inserted in the button-hole; it is then twisted around to roll it through the hole. In the buttons in common use, which are sewed to the cloth so that the thread forms a kind of universal joint, these motions involve little or no difficulty except the gradual wearing away of the thread; but with a style of button which is rigidly secured to the cloth any attempt to destroy its parallelism thereto or to twist it around strains the fabric and tends to destroy it, and unless the latter is very pliable any such attempt is resisted with considerable force and the labor of operating becomes much greater than with the old style of button.

The nature of my invention consists in the use of an annular rim in combination with a swelled or headed shank, and so arranged that the rim is free either to rotate or to stand at various angles relatively to the shank; whereby the buttons are more rmly and durablyattached, are more easily buttoned, and with less strain upon the cloth, and allow of the two parts of the cloth moving relatively to each other, with less friction and wear upon the material of either.

The nature of my invention also consists in the employment of teeth atthe base of the shank, so arranged as to prevent a turning of the shank around except in such direction as shall tighten rather than release the fastening screw.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation, by the aid of the drawings. y

A is the shank, made of any suitable material. Its head or outer end, A, is spherical or conical on its under face, and adapted to retain the rim or button proper, in the manner explained below. Its body is smooth and cylindrical, and is a female screw as represented. Itsbase or end which meets the cloth, is hollowed or recessed to a diameter somewhat greater than that of the screw, and the projecting edge, a, is toothed or notched, one side or face of each tooth being parallel to the axis of A, while the other is inclined as represented in Fig. l.

B is the rim or button proper. It is so hollowed out at its center, and so adapted to the head A of the shank, that it is free to rotate around it, and also to assume a considerable angle relatively to the axis of A, while it is impossible to separate it therefrom. This angular position of B is shown in red lines in Figs. 2 and 3. A gimletpointed screw, C, carrying a washer C is passed through the cloth, D, and into the shank A, as shown in Fig. 2, firmly attaching the shank to the cloth, and compressing the latter between the teeth of the former and the washer, C.

In practice the shanks are all made of one size, and various sized rims, made of the same or other material, and either plain or ornamented, are used to produce the size of button required. Should a rim, by any accident become broken, a new one may be substituted by simply unscrewing the shank and slipping it over the inner end.

In operating my improved button, the rim is by the action of the iingers made to assume the position shown in red lines in Fig. 2, without any strain upon the cloth or the fastening. It is then inserted in the button-hole, the rim, B, seized between the thumb and finger precisely like an ordinary button, and is turned upon the shank without twisting the fastening or straining the cloth by any tendency to rotate the shank.

Vhen buttoned any slight twisting motion of the part of the cloth containing the button-hole, may turn the rim in the same direction causing the wear to come upon the hard surfaces of the button, and not on the cloth and stitching around the hole.

The several parts of my button are very rapidly and cheaply produced by machinery, and by the use of material of different colors, a Very fine effect is presented. By its use the abrasion, and wear of the buttonheaded shank, and outer rim, B, so

combined and arranged as to allow' the rim ltorrotate and assume various angular positions, without twisting or straining the cloth or fastening around the shank, while being buttoned and unbuttoned, substantially as herein vset forth and described.

2. The teeth, a, arranged at the base of theshank, A, substantially as and for the purpose herein set forth.

Y GEO. A. MEACHAM,

Witnesses: l G. N. BABoooK, BHY. L.v BILLINGS. 

